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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: deal · cold · tear · bat · kid · current · stick · cabinet

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. current — happening now
  3. tear — to rip
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. tear — from crying
  8. current — electric
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. kid — child
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. cold — not warm
  17. deal — to handle
  18. kid — to tease
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. bat — the animal
  22. current — of water
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bat — for baseball

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com